In 2025, which is correct across the nook, we’ll be holding two four-week stay follow-along courses through Zoom. You could have seen them promoted in a earlier weblog put up.
This coming February, the category will likely be exploring one other strategy to creating an easier fishy topic—resembling final February’s “Quilter’s Fantastical Material Collage Trophy Fish” Observe Alongside—which was beforehand about utilizing large and daring prints, pictured above). In July 2025, there will likely be a brand new “Fascinating Bug and Butterfly” Observe Alongside.
Every of those four-week courses will think about a unique side of material collage. The Fish Observe Alongside will use a fish sample (which you’ll select free from my assortment) with a 2025 concentrate on mixing—considered one of my most requested about abilities—the method of utilizing the colours and prints in materials to facilitate mixing one into one other, typically to create the phantasm of kind.
The Bugs and Butterflies Observe Alongside (additionally based mostly on my patterns) will concentrate on butterflies themselves, and particularly the flowing and colourful shapes of their fascinating wings. Study what to search for in your printed materials to create motion and kind—letting the material do a lot of the give you the results you want.
Use the hyperlinks under to register for these four-week courses, held every Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. jap time.
Within the meantime, particularly in case you are new to material collage, it could be useful to evaluate the fundamentals of the material collage approach earlier than these courses start. So within the subsequent few weeks, we’ll cowl the matters of selecting material, making a material palette, glueing, working in sequence, backgrounds, and sheers.
* * * * * *
February 6, 13, 20, 27, 2025 — 7 pm, Japanese Time
Fantastical Material Collage Fish Zoom Observe-Alongside
REGISTER HERE
Worth: $78
* * * * * *
July 24, 31, August 7, 14, 2025 — 7 pm, Japanese Time
Fascinating Material Collage Bugs and Butterflies Zoom Observe-Alongside
REGISTER HERE
Worth: $78
Should you’ve ever thought of giving your self the present of a 5-day week-long material collage class expertise with me—and should not scared off by staying cozy in your house, not touring wherever, and protecting your material stash shut by—do we have now a particular supply for you—a $100 low cost (which supplies you the chance so as to add extra material to that stash!).
January 20-24, 2025
Susan Carlson 5-Day Dwell On-line Class—All Ranges, Animals Solely
Worth WAS: $995
NOW: $895
REGISTER HERE
Benefit from this particular supply solely for January’s “Cozy” Dwell On-line Material Collage Class
Additional Susan Carlson Studying Assets: Susan Carlson Quilts web site, patterns, weblog (normally), YouTube movies, Spiral eWorkshop, Patreon, and our February Fantastical Fish and Summertime’s Fascinating Bugs and Butterfly Work-Alongs
Selecting Material for Material Collage
(Up to date with Video)
Initially posted March 25, 2017
Up to date Publish
I acquired the next touch upon my Fb web page the opposite day:
Query: Do you utilize batiks completely or common cotton material as effectively? Many of those items have a lot element within the material that I’m guessing you would need to be purchasing for material on a regular basis with a view to discover the most effective match on your piece.
This query, together with latest expertise in my courses, satisfied me that it was an excellent time to re-visit “Selecting Material for Material Collage” (see authentic put up under). Selecting material to carry to class, or to buy in a retailer, will at all times be a problem as a result of a lot of it is dependent upon trial-and-error expertise. Plus there’s a mind-boggling assortment of materials to select from. Little doubt, the right material will likely be left at residence—or on the shop shelf— it’s simply a type of guidelines. And so far as the second a part of the remark above, “Sure, I do store for material on a regular basis—doesn’t everybody?”
Because it was apparent some may use additional steering, I made a decision to take one other crack at choosing material on this replace.
First, although, let me reply the Fb query immediately:
Sure, I do use plenty of batiks. In actual fact, that’s sort of a short-hand reply for what sort of materials I might select for material collage. (I additionally use all kinds of different cotton, and non-cotton, materials.) Nonetheless, I have to make clear. Some batiks work effectively whereas others don’t.
The excellence I draw is between common batiks and “printed” batiks—batiks which have an general sample or design printed on them. I want the printed batiks. The best way I work and the way I train my college students is to make use of the prints within the material to assist create kind. Don’t ignore the print. Don’t lower by way of or throughout the print. The printed design is used to emphasise contours, visible motion and texture within the picture being collaged. It’s like a treasure hunt to search out the best print—mixed with shade and worth—within the material. I then lower alongside that print to create an irregular form, including to my palette of “scraps” to select from.
Listed here are a some batik examples.
The hand-dyed batik on the left is a stupendous shade, nevertheless there’s no print for me to chop round—and if I have been to create a form it might appear to be a stable shade. I’ve discovered stable colours arduous to “mix” (however that’s a topic for one more put up.) The one on the best, can also be a non-print batik, however with extra mild/darkish variation which may very well be seen as random shapes to chop round. It’s presumably helpful, relying on the subject material, however wouldn’t be my first “greatest wager” selection.
The batiks that flip my head are printed batiks like those above. The prints present motion and one other layer of variation in shade and worth along with the bottom batiked material. I discover materials like these far more versatile for my material collage methodology.
Check out the 2 new movies I’ve added to this put up. They strategy the problem from reverse instructions.
The primary talks in a normal manner in regards to the materials I have collected just lately, however with none specific challenge in thoughts. They may be good for any variety of material. However you may see from my examples the varieties of materials I might recommend so as to add to your stash.
The second, longer video takes a subject-oriented strategy. In it, I encourage you to look carefully on the options in your topic to assist select printed materials that can work with it. Does your topic have lengthy, flowy hair or a tail? Is your topic spherical or extra angular? What are the shape and contours of the options you’ll be portraying in material? Answering these kinds of questions will allow you to focus in on the print you’re on the lookout for, whether or not you might be in school or at a material retailer dreaming about your subsequent challenge.
After these movies is my authentic weblog put up from a number of months prior. Amassing material for material collage is an on-going course of. Might this up to date put up allow you to in making your “greatest wager” picks on your subsequent challenge.
Authentic Publish
After all, whereas I have to admit that I’ve such a broad style in shade and design that my husband typically says it quantities to no style in any respect (I want to explain my style as “eclectic”), I do have some broad pointers for the way I choose material.
If I needed to break it down, I’d use the next standards:
- Shade
- Sample
- Scale
- Amount
College students at all times discover it troublesome to know simply which materials, and the way a lot, to carry together with them to my material collage courses. One benefit of instructing at a spot just like the Quilt Gallery in Kalispell, Montana, the place I used to be just lately, is that it’s a material retailer. This is without doubt one of the locations I train the place, if college students don’t have the best piece, they will browse an entire store’s price.
So what makes a specific piece of material helpful for material collage? What varieties? What colours? What patterns? How a lot do I purchase?
These have been the kinds of questions my college students in Kalispell have been asking, so one afternoon proper after class, I invited them to accompany me on a tour of the shop as I shopped for my very own stash. As I pulled bolts, I talked aloud about what attracted me to them. College students additionally pulled bolts and requested my opinion of them.
It occurred to me then that material choice could be an excellent subject for a weblog put up.
Shade
As I’ve talked about earlier than, I like robust, shiny colours. The extra shade the higher. A number of colours are nice. However after all I’m drawn to sure colours—aren’t all of us? If I don’t have a specific challenge in thoughts, I are inclined to gravitate towards that individual shade vary. Try that choice above. Slightly heavy within the pinks and oranges, with inexperienced creeping in and touches of aqua. Add some yellow and that’s me.
With out consciously looking out them out, I had pulled materials that color-wise may work effectively collectively. I’ve realized that if I belief my intuition, I don’t go far improper.
As soon as a sure shade material has caught my eye (quite like one thing shiny catches the attention of a magpie), I then have a look at the worth vary within the piece. If the material is just about all one worth—is visually flat—I’m much less possible to purchase it. If, nevertheless, it has a dynamic vary of worth, from darkish to mild—possibly even with one other shade thrown in—I’m more likely to maintain it in my procuring cart. Patterned batiks, for instance (all however three of the above samples), are sometimes helpful as they comprise plenty of variation in worth, and often shade.
Sample
The photograph above of my Quilt Gallery buy should additionally offer you a clue as to the patterns I want. The prints I select are primarily pure shapes: leaves, flowers, bugs, shells, swirls, animal prints, marbleizing, and so forth. Summary prints are additionally helpful, particularly these which are based mostly on pure shapes.
These patterns often present a pleasant number of curves, repeated patterns, and variations in worth to assist in giving kind to the pictures I create. I look for designs within the material that I can lower round and use as contours in my picture. Such material is usually in a position to serve a number of functions. Lengthy curves for hair or the flowing tail on a fish or air currents throughout face of a solar may all be from the identical material.
Scale
A dialogue of sample leads immediately into scale. Scale refers to how massive the repeated picture is. I’m drawn to bigger scale prints. College students are usually hesitant about utilizing them, however I discover them extra helpful that small-scale patterns. Should you want a curve, it’s simpler to chop one from a big sample than it’s to mix a number of smaller bits to create that curve.
Nonetheless, smaller general designs have their makes use of as effectively. I typically use them for extra refined mixing from one worth to the subsequent, resembling in a face of an individual or the physique of an animal. See the pictures of the “Cousins” and Kali the canine under.
Amount
I inform my college students selection is extra necessary that amount. I can and do use a whole lot of completely different materials per piece, but most of my quilts aren’t any larger than a pair yards complete in measurement.
I sometimes purchase materials in half-yard (give or take) increments. Even fats quarters are typically sufficient. When do I purchase extra? The reply to that query is usually dependent upon scale—the dimensions of the picture repeated inside the material.
For instance, in my quilt “Dixie Dingo Dreaming” I used completely aboriginal motif materials. Lots of these Australian materials have massive design parts, so massive that I often purchased a yard or extra of every to make sure that I acquired sufficient of these repeated patterns to make use of within the piece. Just a few of these materials then got here in helpful for Crocodylus Smylus, an Australian saltwater crocodile, a number of years later.
Examples
Generally you simply should see one thing carried out with a view to perceive it. I take advantage of two of my items, “Kissin’ Cousins” and “Golden Temple of the Good Ladies” to reveal how and the place I used specific materials.
For scale of the patterns, every material swatch is 5 inches extensive by 8 inches tall.
So, there are only a few of the ideas that undergo my head as I’m making material selection selections. I do know some college students could also be on the lookout for arduous and quick guidelines for selecting material, however I assume it’s extra like pointers.
First, purchase material that makes you smile and also you be ok with. There’s nothing dangerous about that. Then complement with material picked particularly on your challenge, be it due to shade, design, or scale. Go for selection. Extra is best. That’s my motto and I’m sticking with it.
I stay unapologetically eclectic.